


For Keeps

by HalfAnachronism



Series: Cherik Stuff [4]
Category: X-Men (Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Astronomer/Engineer Erik, Charles Is a Big Dorkface, Erik is Crushing Harder than a 12-year Old Girl, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 17:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5594941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HalfAnachronism/pseuds/HalfAnachronism
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The year is 1977. NASA plans to send a spacecraft containing information about humanity into space in hopes that aliens will find it. Erik and Charles are tasked with finding the information.</p><p>In other words, a reimagining of the Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For Keeps

The year was 1977. The planets were in perfect alignment, which meant different things for different people: for astrologists it meant perfect harmony and true love, and for astronomers it meant the possibility of finding extraterrestrials, or at least contacting them. But for Erik Lehnsherr, it meant a job.

“So we’re going to send some information into space for aliens to find,” started Sebastian Shaw, the director of NASA, sitting down at his desk. He motioned for Erik to sit down in the chair in front of the desk before continuing, “And we’d like you to compile the information.”

Erik was shocked. “This... this is quite an honor, sir. But, if I may ask; why me?”

“Why not? You’re an engineer, an astronomer. To be honest, you know your shit. Of course it’d be you.”

“I... um, thank you, sir.”

“But there’s something else.”

Erik raised an eyebrow in response.

“Lehnsherr, don’t be offended, but we both know you’re not exactly a people person. Which is why we’ve assigned you a Creative Director to help you with this project.”

Erik shifted in his seat. A creative director? What was so difficult about recording bird sounds and putting it on a disc to be sent into space? Why did he need a handler?

“Trust me, Lehnsherr, you’ll like this guy. He’s..... plucky. Came straight from Oxford. He studied genetics though, so maybe you guys can include some genetics stuff in this disc of info.”

Erik stifled a groan. No matter how ‘plucky’ this person was, he _hated_ group projects in any way shape or form.

After explaining the assignment a bit more, Director Shaw dismissed Erik. Erik rose to leave, but was interrupted by Shaw, who added:

“Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you, your creative director guy is waiting for you in the lobby.”

Erik nodded and left. Although he was excited about the fact that he was in charge of what extraterrestrials would maybe someday see of Earth, he was still annoyed that he'd have to work with someone.

Just a few minutes later, Erik was stepping out of the elevator and into the main lobby of the building. He quickly scanned the crowd of people to try to find this Charles Xavier fellow. Suddenly, he was interrupted from his thoughts by a soft voice, which was so light and airy that it almost sounded like a bell:

“Hi, are you Erik?”

Erik looked down at the younger man, and was surprised when his own heart skipped a beat upon seeing the owner of the voice. He was beautiful yet rather odd-looking, almost like Snow White with his dark locks, snowy skin, and red lips. But what Erik found was the most striking thing about this boy was his bright blue eyes, which were so vibrant that they almost looked menacing.

“Yes, I’m Erik Lehnsherr. Are you—”

“Charles Xavier, pleased to meet you.” Charles excitedly grabbed Erik’s hand and shook it. “I’m your creative director for this project.”

Erik looked Charles over. He wasn’t exactly too impressed by the boy’s choice in clothing; he looked like a starving artist with his scarf and fingerless gloves. How could someone who looked like this be important enough to help with such a massive project?

“So you're the plucky geneticist.”

“Well, I've never been described as plucky before, but I suppose I am. And you're the misanthropic creep.”

Erik laughed. “I assume Director Shaw is the one who said that.”

“Is it inaccurate?”

“Oh no, it's accurate. In fact, I’m not entirely surprised he warned you about me. It's not uncommon for him to tell people to avoid me completely.”

“Bit rude of him, don't you think?”

“I actually think it's quite considerate to all parties involved. I'm not exactly a nice person.”

“You don't seem _that_ bad.”

“Well we've only just met.” Erik plunged his hand into his coat pocket and fished out a pen and a notepad. He wrote something on the pad, tore off the paper and gave it to Charles. “Here's my number. We’ll probably need to meet up sometime this week to discuss this major project we’re burdened with. I've got some stuff to do right now, but call me later so that we can plan.”

“Will do,” Charles responded quickly as Erik walked away.

Erik went back to his desk. At least this new creative director wasn't completely intolerable, at least not so far. He seemed a bit naive, and was probably incredibly inexperienced, but he was quite fun to look at and even though Erik knew he didn't have a chance in hell with him, it could be much much worse.

 

“Raven, you won't believe it! The misanthropic creep is gorgeous!”

Charles was talking to his sister on a pay phone. He could barely contain his excitement; he had expected the man Shaw warned him about to be a disgusting old monster, but he seemed amiable enough, and even if he turned out to be completely evil, at least he was pretty.

“Really?” his sister barked back. “Do you think you have a chance?”

“Not at all. But who cares! He's handsome!”

Raven laughed. “ _‘Who cares, he's handsome’_ is going to be etched into your tombstone.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“I dunno. But I hope, for your sake, that he's incredibly gay.”

“As do I. I think he might’ve attempted flirting with me, but it was kind of hard to tell. I'm just excited that I get to work with someone this attractive. My _God,_ Raven, you should've seen the arse on this guy!”

“I'm sure it was impeccable. I should meet this guy, determine if he's suitable for my brother.”

“I’ll find a way to introduce you two, I'm sure. But for now I have to focus on actually getting this project done.”

The payphone informed him that his time was running out, and Charles quickly said goodbye to his sister and hung up. This was going to be fun.

 

Later that evening, Erik’s phone rang.

“Hi, it's Charles. I was wondering if you'd like to meet up tomorrow for lunch, you know, to discuss ideas and whatnot.”

“YES. I mean, yeah, all right.”

“Great. Does that one coffee place on Main Street work for you?”

“Um, yeah, sure.” Erik had no idea where this coffee place was. “Is noon okay?”

“Of course. See you then.”

Charles and Erik both hung up the phone, and Erik immediately began silently berating himself for behaving so awkwardly. He hoped it wasn't too obvious that he'd been thinking about Charles all afternoon, but it probably was, especially considering how accidentally enthusiastic he sounded when he agreed to meeting up with him. But Charles didn't seem to be perturbed by any of it, which was good, because Erik knew he could get in a lot of trouble for how he felt.

Erik was confused about the way he was feeling about Charles; sure, he'd liked people before (albeit rarely), but he had never been this excited. He felt like a schoolchild, all giggly and happy, and part of him wished he could scream about it out loud, but the only person who knew of Erik’s preferences was his friend Emma, and for his own safety it would stay that way.

 

Charles had been sitting alone in the coffee shop on Main Street for almost an hour now. Every single time he heard the jingle of the bell on the door he looked over, hoping he'd see Erik there, and he'd give Erik the coffee he ordered for him, and they'd begin discussing their plans. But Erik still wasn't there, and Charles decided to give up.

Charles picked up his bag and the coffees and headed to the door. Just as he had reached the exit, the door swung open and a tall person burst in, obviously in a rush. This person bumped right into Charles, and the coffee spilled on both of them.

“Shit, I'm so sorry, I should've been looking where I was going...” apologized the person, who was trying to help clean the coffee off of them.

“It's all right, my friend,” Charles said.

Then the person looked up at Charles. “Oh, fucking shit, I'm so sorry I was late I didn't know where the place was and I got lost like thrice it's all my fault I'm so sorry—”

“Erik, it's okay. Let's just sit down,” Charles smiled.

Erik followed him back to where he had been sitting. They sat, and Charles pulled a book out of his bag.

Erik asked, “There's two coffees. Did you get one for me?”

“I did. I assume most of it is gone now considering our little collision, but I hope it's the kind you like.”

Erik took a sip from it. It was dark, and incredibly bitter. “It is. Thank you so much, please let me repay you—”

Charles shook his head. “There's no need to, my friend. I'm glad I guessed the right kind though. Anyway, I wrote down some ideas for the disc...”

Charles opened his notebook and began reading off ideas, most of which Erik agreed to. They discussed their plans for half an hour, and then they reached an agreement on what they needed to acquire for their project.

“By the way,” Charles randomly stated, “I still don't believe you're as cruel as the people at NASA like to think you are.”

Erik smirked. “And what evidence do you have that proves that I'm not actually evil?”

“Because when you bumped into a stranger a while ago, you apologized nonstop, and then began apologizing for being late when you realized that stranger was me.”

“So what? Can't villains have manners?”

Both men laughed.

“So,” Erik continued, “we plan to film people, but what people?”

“Well, I have a sister, I'm sure she'd love to help out. And she has friends that I'm sure she can rope into this.”

“Okay.”

“Do you know of any other people who'd like to be in our videos?”

“I have approximately 2.5 friends, and I'd probably have to pay them to help us out. They're not exactly the most pleasant people.”

“Well, we need people of all sorts in our video, so maybe they’ll come in handy.”

“I'll see if I can convince them.”

Charles smiled. “Perfect.”

 

Erik wriggled awkwardly as he waited for Emma to pick up the phone.

“Emma Frost.”

“Emma, I need a favor.”

“What sort of favor?”

“I need you, Angel, and Azazel to be in some videos about human life.”

“And why?”

“Because I think it'll make my creative director happy and I am very much attracted to my creative director.”

“Mmm.”

It was silent for a moment. Erik continued, “You guys won't have to do much, just smile or play games or dance or something.”

“Tell me more about this _‘creative director’_ guy.”

“Um, he's a geneticist, he went to Oxford, he's beautiful... I mean, he has me asking favors of you lot, so obviously he's quite amazing.”

“I'm sure he is, sugar.”

“So will you do it?”

“I'll have to talk to Angel and Azazel about it, but I'm in.”

“Emma, you never cease to amaze me.”

“Oh god, you're throwing around compliments, what's he done to you?”

“Trust me, when you meet him you'll see.”

“Mmhmm.”

 

Due to the weather being freezing, Charles and Erik had to wait a month before being able to shoot their video. Luckily, the month rolled by quicker than they ever expected, and they all met up in a park on a sunny day.

“Erik, this is my sister, Raven.”

Erik very awkwardly shook Raven's hand and then turned away to call his friends over. “Um, these are my associates, Emma, Angel, and Azazel.”

“Lovely to meet you all.” Charles shook their hands quickly, and then it was time to shoot.

The video ended up consisting of people talking, reading, and dancing to classical music, and therefore the shooting for it was over in less than two hours. Azazel and some of Charles’s and Raven’s friends left, leaving Charles, Raven, Erik, Angel, and Emma.

“So, how do you like him so far?” asked Charles.

Raven shrugged and answered, “He seems awkward. Almost like he's trying to impress you.”

“Please, Raven, don't get my hopes up,” teased her older brother.

“Well, I think you should go talk to him and his friend Emma while I go, ahem, _investigate_ Erik’s friend Angel.”

Charles laughed and said, “All right.” He then went over to Erik and Emma.

“So, how'd you two meet?” Charles inquired.

Erik started to say something but was cut off by Emma. “We met in college. I was Erik’s only friend because he barely spoke English and I'm fluent in German.”

“Oh really?”

Erik nodded. His face was turning slightly red.

“Yup,” continued Emma. “So,  you're the guy we've been hearing so much about?”

“I suppose I am.”

Emma looked him over. She then nodded, and said, “Y’know, I've got quite a few errands to run, and I'm Angel’s ride, so I guess we'll both be on our way then.”

Emma looks over at Angel, who was exchanging phone numbers with Raven. “Angel, sugar, if you'll stop flirting for a sec, we kinda got places to be,”

Angel looked up. “Yeah, sorry.” She told Raven to call her and then waltzed away with Emma.

“Um, yeah, I have places to be as well,” said Raven. “It was really nice meeting you, Erik.”

Raven left, and Charles and Erik were now alone in the park.

“So.” Charles began.

Erik said quickly, “Your sister was flirting with my friend.”

“Yes, I suppose she was.”

“And you're.... okay with this? With that.... sort of thing?”

Charles could feel himself turning pale. Was Erik about to insult them?

“...Yes, yes I am.”

Erik exhaled quickly. “Good. Good. As am I.”

“You look relieved.”

“I just.... I just don't like prejudice, that's all. So it's good to hear that you're not a jerk.”

“Likewise.”

The two men stood there for a moment. On the inside, Charles was screaming from relief that even if Erik didn't like him back, he at least didn't hate him for something he couldn't control. And little did Charles know Erik was silently celebrating the same thing.

 

Time seemed to move slowly for Erik and Charles, but in reality months were flying by. The two met up every day for coffee and discussed their plans, but were quickly running out of plans to discuss. In fact, all they needed was a piece of music to finish Erik’s idea of having something to represent each era of time. The spacecraft carrying the information they'd collected would be sent up into space in just a few months, and Erik was simultaneously excited and annoyed by this; he wanted to see his work be put to good use, but he didn't want his time with Charles to end.

Erik hoped that maybe they'd still be friends after it was all over, but he liked having an excuse to see Charles. Even though they'd known each other for months Erik still woke up with Charles’s lips on his mind, and he had a picture of Charles that he looked at on too many occasions, typically at inappropriate times.

Emma forced Erik to admit that he was utterly smitten with the younger man. Every time Charles smiled, Erik felt a strong urge to scream _I love you_ , but he knew he couldn’t, and considering how nervous Charles still made him, he knew he wouldn't. But when Charles fell asleep on Erik’s couch after a long night of organizing their files, Erik couldn't resist lightly running his fingers through Charles’s hair and gently sliding a finger across his jawline. He grabbed a blanket and tossed it over his friend, but didn't retire to his own bed; instead he fell asleep on the other end of the couch.

The next morning he made Charles breakfast and they talked about everything but work, and Erik figured that that must be what heaven was like.

He wanted to stroke Charles’s cheek, but he didn’t. He wanted to grab the ends of Charles’s scarf and use it to pull him into a kiss, but he didn't. Part of him felt like Charles wanted him to do these things as well, but he dismissed the idea. There was no way Charles could want him.

 

There were two months left until the spacecraft was launched, and all Charles and Erik needed was a piece of music.

Erik was a state away for important NASA meetings, and Charles was determined to find a perfect piece of ancient Chinese music before Erik returned.

Finally, late at night, Charles found the perfect song. He called Erik’s hotel room to give him the news.

Erik didn't answer, so Charles left a message:

“Hey Erik, it's Charles, I just wanted to tell you that I found the song we should use. It's old, it's beautiful, it's called Flowing Streams and it's very important and you'll think it's perfect when you're here, which you're not, and I wish that you were. Anyway, bye.”

Charles hung up the phone and waited for a few minutes. Finally, Erik called back.

“Charles, I wish you had left me this message earlier.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I guess you and me.”

“For keeps?”

“For keeps.”

They both hung up the phone, but almost immediately it rang again.

Erik questioned, “So what just happened?”

“I think we just got engaged.”

“I agree.”

They hung up again.

Charles was confused and excited. After months of pining, he got engaged to a brilliant, gorgeous man over the phone. He couldn’t believe it, and he then realized that the disc was missing one more thing.

 

A week later, Erik was back in town, and he was greeted at the airport by Charles, who was holding a golden disc.

“I added some stuff to it, but I think it’s done and ready for liftoff,” Charles said with a sheepish grin.

“Wow, I can’t believe it’s finally done,” Erik replied, gently taking the disc from his friend. “We’ll need to listen to it, to make sure it’s all right.”

“Yes, but there’s something else we need to do first.”

Before Erik could respond, Charles swiftly grabbed him by his coat collar and pulled him down into a kiss. Charles’s lips were oddly cold yet Erik didn’t care, both men were warm from excitement, and Erik could feel the younger man smiling.

They pulled away from each other.

“Want to go to my place? To, you know, listen to the disc, but also for other purposes.”

Erik beamed. “Certainly.”

 

Finally, the two men were alone and didn’t have to worry about the prejudice of others. They sat on Charles’s couch, sipping wine and listening to the disc to make sure nothing was wrong. After a few hours, Charles’s song played.

“You’re right, it _is_ a beautiful song,” Erik stated.

“Am I ever wrong?”

“Not that I know of. Say, why don’t we dance?”

“I find that this is _hardly_ dancing material.”

“Come on!” Erik leaped off the couch and extended his hand toward Charles, who grabbed it and was lifted up and into Erik’s arms, and for the rest of the song they swayed off-beat together. But the song eventually ended, and Charles could see the confusion in Erik’s face as the next track played.

Erik inquired, “What’s this?”

Charles ran his hands up his partner’s shoulders and replied, “Well, after we got engaged, I went to the nearest hospital and put electrodes on my brain and measured my brainwaves and eventually turned them into audio.”

“Really?” Erik said, swaying a bit and bringing Charles along with him. “What were you thinking about?”

“You.” Charles buried his face in Erik’s chest. “More specifically, my love for you.”

“So we’re going to send the sound of your eternal love for me into space?”

“Yes.”

“What a wonderful idea.”

Charles looked up at his fiance and was met with a kiss.

A month later, the spacecraft was sent into space, which, like Charles and Erik’s love, lasted forever.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to apologize for any historical inaccuracies, I wrote this late at night and decided that stuff like fashion and slang can just be inaccurate :)
> 
> Also I've been watching a TON of Brooklyn Nine Nine lately so whenever I typed Charles I kept thinking of Charles Boyle and that most definitely doesn't keep the romance writing juices flowing


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